Book: Letter to a Christian Nation

Letter to a Christian Nation is Sam Harris‘ followup to his first book The End of Faith.

In it, he formulates an open response to feedback he received by readers of the first book. Written as a letter to a Christian (but you can to some degree substitute other forms of dogma or faith), he once more takes away the taboo of voicing critical questions against religious beliefs.

Once more, he asks strong questions.

I wonder if he is predominantly preaching to the choir here though. To some degree, probably. No doubt, there will be other readers, who will once again take offense. Some of them will likely once again let him know how much or little they appreciate his attitude.

The greater potential lies somewhere else though. People discovering new and important questions for themselves. Deeper looks at behavioral patterns. Increased awareness of intellectual honesty. Maybe a new openness for discussion.

The willingness to discussing or even just listening to opposing opinion is an absolute requirement for a religious person reading this book. You might find this offensive, comparable to The End of Faith or Dawkins’ The God Delusion.